Retail sales point to firmer consumer spending

By Lucia MutikaniWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Retail sales rose solidly in December as Americans shrugged off the threat of higher taxes and bought automobiles and a range of other goods, suggesting momentum in consumer spending as the year ended.Other data on Tuesday showed inflation pressures remained muted, with wholesale prices declining for a third straight month in December. That should allow the...

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Wall Street opens lower on debt limit concern

DEAR ABBY: Recently my husband, "Byron," and I had an argument, and he took off in his truck. He didn't return until after work the following day. He had he spent the night at our friend "Arlene's" house. She is divorced and lives alone. Byron assures me "nothing happened" between them. I want to believe him, but ever since this incident, Arlene will not look me in the eye or speak to me.I love Byron...

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Oprah: Lance Armstrong admitted doping

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Lance Armstrong has finally come clean.Armstrong confessed to doping during an interview with Oprah Winfrey taped Monday, just a couple of hours after a wrenching apology to staff at the Livestrong charity he founded and has now been forced to surrender.The day ended with 2 1/2 hours of questions from Winfrey at a downtown Austin hotel, where she said the world's most famous cyclist...

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Is China easing up on local media?

A protester calls for greater media freedom outside the headquarters of Nanfang Media Group in Guangzhou on Jan. 9.STORY HIGHLIGHTSYoung: Handling of Southern Weekly row demonstrated tolerant side of new leadershipTraditional, newer media can serve as tools for achieving goals in China's modernizationThe fight against corruption in China is at the top of the list for incoming leader, Xi JinpingYoung:...

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CBS orders untitled Jim Gaffigan project to pilot

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – CBS has ordered an untitled Jim Gaffigan project to pilot, the network announced on Friday.Much like FX’s “Louie,” the proposed single-camera series sounds as if it will be largely autobiographical on the stand-up comic’s life.Executive produced and written by both Gaffigan and Peter Tolan (“Rescue Me”), Gaffigan will star as the happily married and harried father of five...

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City sackings ‘at five-year high’

14 January 2013 Last updated at 07:35 ETDismissals and suspensions in the UK financial services sector hit a five-year high in 2012, according to data from the Financial Services Authority.Some 1,373 workers were sacked for disciplinary reasons, up 76% from 2011.The total number of job losses in the sector – including redundancies, resignations and retirements – was also at a five-year high, of 177,697.The...

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MetLife, GE close deal for $6.4 billion in bank deposits

(Reuters) – MetLife Inc (MET) said on Monday it had closed the sale of its deposit business to General Electric Co (GE), a move that allows the U.S. insurer to drop its registration as a bank holding company and provides GE Capital with an alternative source of funding for its lending business.The deal, for $ 6.4 billion in bank deposits, had been in the works for more than a year with regulatory...

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Wall Street edges lower at open as Apple drags

MELBOURNE, Jan 14 (Reuters) - A nervous Sam Stosur survived the first test of her annual battle with stage-fright at the Australian Open, but the spotlight is set to focus on the ninth seed after all of her compatriots were dumped from the first round on Monday. Australia's hopes of a home-bred champion at the year's first grand slam have gone unfulfilled for 34 years and, with Lleyton Hewitt crashing...

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Title games feature Ravens-Pats, 49ers-Falcons

One game is a rematch. The other might feel like one — at least to one of the teams.For the second straight year in the AFC, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.In the NFC, it will be San Francisco traveling to Atlanta, with the Falcons defense trying to stop a versatile, running quarterback for the second straight week."Russell Wilson...

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Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos

The United States and the sorry state of its political and budgetary process will be the center of attention at Davos, writes QuestSTORY HIGHLIGHTSQuest: Davos is a chance to see where the political and economic landmines are in 2013Quest: People will be speculating about how dysfunctional the U.S. political process has becomeQuest: Davos has been consumed by eurozone sovereign debt crises for three...

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